Catalogue description Texts of lectures by Professor Dorothy Tarrant

Handwritten texts of lectures, given by Professor Tarrant at Bedford College, on cruise ships and to groups including the Wandsworth Women's League and women at Holloway Prison, on the ancient world, including philosophy, education, the place of women, and temperance. Includes a copy of 'The genesis of Plato's theory of ideas', submitted for her MA in Classics, 1909.

The papers have been arranged in roughly chronological order, but some are difficult to date.

Professor Tarrant's staff file is in the College Archives (BC D513). See also BC RF/141/8

Tarrant, Dorothy, 1885-1973, Professor of Greek

Open to all registered users of the College Archives

Presented to the Bedford College Librarian, with the authority of her family, by Professor Tarrant's minister, the Reverend Sydney H. Knight, in 1980. The papers were transferred from the Bedford Centre Archives when the College merged with Royal Holloway in 1985.

None expected

Dorothy Tarrant was born on 7 May 1885, the daughter of a Unitarian minister, and she was devoted to Unitarianism all her life, holding 'almost every office open to her' (according to her obituary in 'The Inquirer') including that of President of the General Assembly, 1952-1953. She was President of the Unitarian Temperance Association from 1948 to 1951.

She was educated privately and at Clapham High School for Girls, London, where she passed the examination for a London University B.A. Pass degree in 1904. Studied at Girton College, Cambridge University, but since that university did not award degrees to women, her first class honours degree in Classics in 1906 was awarded by London University. She took a double first in the Cambridge classical tripos in 1907, but did not get a degree from that university until 1927. She held a Gilchrist Fellowship for research at Girton college, 1908-1909, and was awarded an M.A. from London University for her thesis 'The genesis of Plato's theory of ideas'. She was appointed to the staff of Bedford College, University of London, in 1909 as Assistant Lecturer in Classics, and was Assistant Lecturer in Greek, 1916-1921, Lecturer in Greek, 1921-1929, Reader in Greek, 1929-1936, and Professor of Greek and Head of the Department of Greek, 1936-1950. She obtained the London Ph.D. (External) in Arts (Classics) in 1931. She was made Professor Emeritus, University of London, 1950; and Honorary Fellow of Girton College, 1955, Bedford College, 1969, and Manchester College, Oxford University, 1969. She was President of the Hellenic Society, 1953-1956, and President of the Classical Association, 1957-1958. She died on 4 September 1973.

Publications: 'On the Hippias Major' (Journal of Philology, Vol XXXV, 1920); Preface to 'Hymns for school and home' (Sunday School Association, London, 1920); 'The conception of the soul in Greek philosophy' (Hibbert Journal, Oct 1921); Articles on Ancient philosophy in 'The Year's Work in Classical Studies', annually from 1921-22; 'Notes on Aristophanes' 'Birds' 700' (Classical Review, Aug-Sept 1923); 'Lessons for the little ones' (Sunday School Association, London, 1924) with E D Scott; 'Notes on Catullus LXXII 3, 4' (Classical Review, Feb-March 1925); 'The art of Plato' (Classical Review, July 1926); 'What Unitarians believe' (Lindsey Press, London, [1926]); 'The authorship of the Hippias major' (Classical Quarterly, April 1927); 'The Hippias Major, attributed to Plato. With introductory essay and commentary by Dorothy Tarrant' (Cambridge University Press, 1928); 'On Hyperides, 'Epitaphios' 20' (Classical Review, 1930); 'Early Greek ideas of soul' (Transactions of the Society for Study of Religions, 1931-32); 'The tradition of Socrates' (Greece and Rome, March 1932); 'A golden treasury of the Bible' (Lindsey Press, London, 1934, editor); 'Imagery in Plato's 'Republic'' (1946); 'The contribution of Plato to free religious thought: the Essex Hall lecture' (Lindsey Press, London, [1949]); 'The question of moderate drinking: an address delivered at the annual meeting of the Temperance Collegiate Association, April 16th 1953' (Temperance Collegiate Association, Cardiff, [1953]); 'Plato, Phaedo 74a-b' ( Journal of Hellenic Studies 77, 1957).

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